


Guide your mind

by Lunannex



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Bisexual Peter Parker, Coming Out, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I was in an interwebs mood, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:40:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22320439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunannex/pseuds/Lunannex
Summary: "So, who's the girl?" Tony asks, sitting down on the couch.Everything about Peter's posture stiffens then. He goes to open his mouth but hesitates, at least for a couple of seconds. "It's, um- it's…" He blinks to himself a couple of times before slumping down with his back to the couch, just a little besides Tony's feet. "Look, I actually- I did come here for a reason, not just because...I was bored." He looks up with an indecipherable expression that immediately has Tony straightening up in alert."And that is?" Tony asks, trying to come off as nonchalant.
Relationships: (mentioned) - Relationship, Ned Leeds/Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 31
Kudos: 477





	Guide your mind

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome back to me projecting my feelings onto Peter Parker✌️
> 
> I miraculously wrote this in one sitting lmao, pls be proud of me, that literally only happens once a year

_**(11:57pm) Underoos:** im swinging over_

Tony squints his eyes at the text message before typing out a quick _'ok'_ and pocketing his phone. 

"FRI, would you be a dear and bring up Spidey's vitals?" He asks.

_"Of course, Boss."_

Tony nods. "Good girl." He says as the hologram pops up on his watch.

He's more than pleasantly surprised to see that there's nothing out of the ordinary. The kid has a knack for getting himself into trouble at the most inconvenient times, so Tony never really knows what to expect from him these days.

He swipes the hologram away and opens the glass door when he sees an all too familiar masked menace approaching his balcony. Peter lands gracefully on the balustrade and only acknowledges Tony with a small wave.

"Hey kid." Tony greets dryly as Peter walks past him.

The kid yanks his mask off and throws it on top of the couch with a loud, dramatic groan. "Man, I hate quiet nights." He says instead of saying hello. "It's like, do people even realize how long it takes me to go out there?" He huffs and places a paper bag on the kitchen counter.

Tony barely resists the urge to roll his eyes. "Wow, a night with absolutely _no_ bad guys to fight off? How tragic." He replies sarcastically.

Peter tilts his head back to look at him and throws a hand up. _"Right?”_

Tony narrows his eyes at him and shakes his head. "God, you're a weird kid." He says fondly. "What's in the bag?" He asks.

Peter straightens his posture and grins. "Oh! I brought hot dogs." He says sheepishly. 

Tony snorts softly and reaches for the bag. "Didn't picture you for a delivery boy."

Peter rolls his eyes. "Oh, ha-ha." He laughs dryly.

"It's not an insult, delivery boys are the heroes of our country." Tony smirks. "They still warm?" He asks as he unwraps one of them carefully.

"Duh, only the best for my mentor." Peter grins proudly, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"How considerate of you." Tony says wryly.

Peter snickers. "But, yeah, I bought them like...three minutes before coming here, I think? I knew you hadn't eaten anything yet so," He shrugs, giving Tony a smile. "Besides, nothing speaks New York more than a hotdog, right? Well- except maybe a hamburger, but that's more of a general...American thing, so I don't think it counts."

"You got that right." Tony chuckles as he hands Peter one of them. He sits down on a stool and nudges his chin towards the kid's suit. "You sure you don't wanna change out of that?"

Peter blinks down at his suit as if he just realized he was wearing it. "Oh, right- wait here." He stands up...with the hot dog in hand.

Tony looks at him incredulously. "Why the hell are you taking the hot dog?" He asks, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Peter blinks, a bored look on his face. "I'm gonna finish eating it while I change." He says as if Tony should know better than to ask.

"Isn't that a little counterproductive?"

"What's counterproductive is leaving the hot dog here. It'll get _cold_ , Mister Stark!"

Jesus, this kid was dramatic. "Changing barely takes a minute. I think you'll live."

"Ugh, _fine_. You're so _boring_." Peter groans as he sits back down.

Tony scoffs, placing a hand over his chest. "I take offense to that."

"I know." Peter grins cheekily and practically scarfs down the rest of his hot dog. "Okay, I'll be right back!" He says through a full mouth -gross- and jumps up from his seat. He grabs some clothes from his backpack before practically running out of the room.

"Teenagers…" Tony mutters under his breath with a shake of his head.

"I heard that!"

"I know!"

Three minutes pass until Peter is back in the room. He gingerly places his neatly folded suit on the coffee table, now wearing a pair of sweatpants and an oversized hoodie.

Just as Tony opens his mouth to speak, the kid's phone pings loudly from inside his backpack. Peter immediately lights up at the sound, making the billionaire hum inquisitively at him and eye him suspiciously. 

"Hold on, let me-" Peter rushes over to his backpack without sparing a single glance at him.

Tony watches him rummage through the bag and type on his phone like a madman with deep curiosity. His eyes, Tony notices, are sparkling with a certain fondness and excitement that he's never particularly seen before. It's accompanied by the sweet, dopey smile that's slowly curling up his lips and making something in Tony's chest tighten.

He slowly gets up from his seat, dusts his hands off on his jeans and creeps over towards Peter, trying to look over his shoulder subtly. "Who's that?" He asks.

Peter yelps and jumps, nearly dropping his phone onto the ground. And Tony only feels a little bad. Just a little. He looks up slowly, holding his phone close to his chest as he stares up at Tony with wide eyes, as if having been caught committing a crime. Then, his expression morphs into a frown. "Don't _do_ that!" He exclaims.

Tony arches a brow. "I thought you had super senses?"

"Well- yeah, but-" Peter gnaws at his lower lip deliberately before shaking his head. "Anyways, it's…no one important." He says, a small, barely noticeable smile on his lips.

"Yeah? The look on your face says otherwise."

Peter furrows his brows and cocks his head to the side like a golden retriever. "What look?"

Tony crosses his arms and wags a finger at him. "The lovesick puppy look. It's a little disgusting, quite frankly."

Peter's cheeks turn visibly redder despite the dim light. "I don't- I don't have a lovesick puppy look!"

Tony smirks. "I'd beg to differ." He says. "So, who's the girl?" He asks, sitting down on the couch.

Everything about Peter's posture stiffens then. He goes to open his mouth but hesitates, at least for a couple of seconds. "It's, um- it's…" He blinks to himself a couple of times before slumping down with his back to the couch, just a little besides Tony's feet. "Look, I actually- I _did_ come here for a reason, not just because...I was bored." He looks up with an indecipherable expression that immediately has Tony straightening up in alert.

"And that is?" Tony asks, trying to come off as nonchalant.

"I, uh-" Peter clears his throat and looks down. "Sorry, it's just that...May- May's at work right now and I don't think MJ would appreciate a visit at midnight and I knew _you'd_ be awake so," He shrugs, heaving a ragged sigh. "I- I didn't know what else to...I didn't know where else to go, I guess." He mutters.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Tony slowly places a hand on the back of his neck, careful not to startle him.

Peter shakes his head almost desperately. "Nothing, nothing- sorry, I'm just...I'm being an idiot, sorry. Forget I said anything." He says, shuffling his body across the carpet to sit an inch or two farther away from Tony.

"Kid, what are you talking about?" Tony prods worriedly, glancing over to find a glassy look on the kid's eyes that makes his heart slam in his chest.

"Just- I know that a lot of people don't think that it's right so I-" Peter's voice wavers at the end as he runs a hand through his mouth. "And- and I don't even know... _how_ it happened. It just- it just _did_. I just- I woke up one day and- and I just knew." He stops abruptly and cracks his jaw, his hands curling into white-knuckled fists on the carpeted floor.

"Knew what?" Tony asks gently.

Peter closes his eyes tight and purses his lips, his expression almost pained as he mutters, "That- that I'm bisexual." 

Well...that's definitely not what he was expecting

Tony's shoulders sag. "Oh, _kid-_ "

"I'm sorry," Peter blurts out at the same time. He stands up and runs his shaking fingers through his hair as he starts to pace around the room. "I know you didn't ask for this. I just showed up here uninvited and- and sprung _this_ on you and I'm-"

Tony reaches out and gently curls his fingers around his wrist. "Hey…" He says softly, frowning when Peter keeps his gaze stubbornly focused on the ground. "Kid, look at me." He urges gently, not daring to speak any louder.

Peter raises his head to look at him, albeit hesitantly, and his red-rimmed eyes look so fucking dejected and lost that Tony's immediately hit with the urge to punch something. Anything. Whatever it takes to get that borderline heartbreaking expression off of his face.

The mechanic's seen him like this before: spiraling and fidgeting and practically jumping off the walls with anxiety, but he doesn't think he's ever seen him do so with such a...terrified look on his face.

He stands up and carefully places his hands on either sides on his shoulders, stepping closer towards him. "It's okay…" Tony says quietly, enunciating the words slowly.

Peter's shoulders are slightly shaking under his grip. It's subtle and the man doubts he would've caught it if it weren't for him having his hands on his shoulders. "It is?" Peter asks, peeking up at Tony uncertainly and looking smaller than he's ever seen him.

Tony brushes his hair out of his eyes and shrugs easily. "'Course." He smiles, leading them both back towards the couch. "Do you have anyone you're particularly interested in?"

Peter looks away with that same lovestruck look on his face. "Y-Yeah…" 

"And? Don't leave me hanging here, Pete."

Peter exhales sharply and smooths down his hair nervously. "It's, um- it's Ned…" He admits, almost too quiet for Tony to catch it.

Tony's eyebrows furrow. "Your guy in the chair?"

Peter nods jerkily. "Yeah, and I- I told him. Tonight. Like, before- before I came here."

"Yeah? And what'd he say?" Tony asks, smiling.

"He, um- he said he felt the same way." Peter looks out the window as he says it, lips quirking up into that same dopey smile. "He's great…" 

Tony's smirk comes back full force. "Cute."

Peter covers his face with his hands and releases a strangled whine. "Shut up, man…" He mutters, voice slightly muffled. He lowers his hands slowly and looks at Tony. "But, um- yeah," He bites his lip. "I don't know, I'm a little scared of messing up, honestly." He palms the back of his neck with a bashful laugh. 

Tony rolls his eyes good naturedly. "As if you could. Ted adores you, kid. Doesn't take a genius to figure that out."

Peter hums noncommittally as he fiddles with his fingers. "We're going on a date next week so...that's something." He says.

"So soon?" Tony asks, rearing back slightly in surprise.

Peter shrugs and wraps his arms around himself. "I don't- I've wanted this for... _months_ now and- and I finally got it so, why not, right?"

Everything in Tony's system softens then, and he shuffles just the tiniest bit closer towards his kid. "Does May know?" He asks.

"That I'm bi? Yeah, she knows. She doesn't...know about me liking -or, I guess, dating- Ned, though. I thought about telling her over text but...I wanna do it in person." Peter says.

Tony smiles. "Well, I'm sure she's going to be very thrilled when you do."

"Yeah, and- you're really not like, weirded out...or anything?" Peter asks tentatively, eyes filled with a doubt that Tony definitely does not like.

Tony scoffs, more than a little offended that the kid would even think that. "God, no. How could I be?" He says. "Peter, nothing's going to make me see you any different than I already do." He assures firmly.

Peter's studies him for a few seconds, probably looking for any trace that he might be lying, and then sighs deeply. He uncoils from his curled up position slowly, letting his arms hang loosely on his side. "Good, that's- that's good." His lips twitch up into the smallest resemblance of a smile. He leans over to rest his head on Tony's shoulder. "Thank you..." He says.

Tony gives his knee a gentle squeeze. "Have you had people tell you that it's weird?" He asks, quiet and steady despite the dull flare of anger and trepidation simmering under his skin. It wasn't out of the realm of possibility, as much as he hated to admit it. Teenagers were _assholes_.

"Barely anyone knows. So, not really..." Peter purses his lips and shrugs, eyes darting across every point of the room. "I guess I'm just worried that people _will_ think it's weird when I _do_ officially come out." He admits reluctantly.

Tony wraps an arm around his shoulders and pulls him close to his side. "If they do, then they're not worth your time. Plain and simple."

Peter purses his lips and nods absentmindedly. Tony sighs. "You wanna know something? Who am I kidding, of course you do. I'm...I'm proud of you, kid. Really, I am." He says earnestly, giving the kid a tight-lipped smile. "And you should be proud of yourself, too. That must've taken a lot of guts."

Peter looks at his hands again. "It did." He whispers.

"See? And you still pushed through anyways, that was _brave_ , buddy." Tony says, poking a finger to his chest.

"Yeah…" Peter breathes out, smiling softly. 

"Cool. Now that we got that out of the way…" Tony takes a deep breath and settles back comfortably against the couch. "What are you planning to do for your little date?" He asks lightheartedly.

Peter looks up at the ceiling, eyebrows pulled together in thought. "Oh, um- we don't really know yet? We were gonna talk more about it at school, but…" He trails off, suddenly looking shy.

"Well, then, how about I help you out? I happen to know a _lot_ about dating, I mean, I scored Pepper, didn't I?" Tony nudges his shoulder playfully.

Peter's responding smile is brighter than the sun itself, and Tony finally feels like he's done something right. "Okay." 

Tony rubs his hands together. "Great, let's get to it, buckaroo!"

Peter tilts his head, his smile turning a little more subdued. "You don't have to do this, you know."

Tony ruffles his hair and smirks. "Don't be silly. You think I'm gonna pass off the opportunity to help out my kid with his date? Hell no." He says, grinning when Peter laughs. "Now, c'mon, give me ideas, kiddo, we got all night. What do you got for me?"

Peter's looking at him with that soft expression on his face, almost overwhelmingly grateful and content. "Thanks Tony." He says sincerely. Tony simply squeezes his shoulder in response and, judging by his grin, that tells Peter all he needs to know.

 _Anytime_.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!❣️


End file.
